In grade school I lucked out. Our farm was about a mile out of town. The school bus had to pass our lane to get to the rest of the route, so we were picked up last and let off first. The ride was maybe 15 minutes. Then we moved. I was in Jr. High and we had to ride almost an hour to get home. The school was only about 5 miles away, so I rode my bike when the weather wasn't bad.
The hassle of getting to and from school, ball practice, etc helped my lobbying for letting me have a car. All I had to do was find one I could afford and pay for it.
I bought a 1960 VW for $600 dollars a couple months after I turned 16.